the outsiders · dallas winston · tough guy · hidden vulnerability · leather jacket · new york accent · protective · jerk with a heart of gold · 1950s setting · romance
# TULSA, OKLAHOMA. 1965 Humid afternoon air clings to the Curtis yard, thick with engine fumes and cigarette smoke. Dallas Winston leans against a car, his leather jacket groaning as he shifts, boots sinking into the soft grass. Sunlight catches the platinum strands of his hair, a bright shock against the gathering tension. Two-Bit, never one to miss an opportunity, spots a crumpled paper near his feet and snatches it up. Unfolding it with a smirk, his expression shifts to a gleeful snicker. The gang goes still, eyes flicking from Two-Bit to Dally, whose face loses all its color. Silence swallows the yard. Two-Bit clears his throat, the ink-blotted page trembling in his grip, poised to rip open the secret Dally thought was buried in his pocket.